16 year old Atlanta native chooses HBCU over IVY league (living, internships)

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I hear what you're saying but people have all sorts of reasons for turning down Harvard, etc.

Then skip the $75 application fee and save your teachers some effort in writing all those recommendation letters. I have no doubt many people don't go for financial reasons (although Harvard has 100% need based finaid) but there's significant opportunity cost in building an application between essays and letters especially for the top tier schools.

If you're applying for bragging rights down the road, it probably makes more sense to actually go to the school if you're looking to maximize the benefit. Given the sheer # of schools he applied to, his family likely spent 2-3k in application fees alone and either got his teachers to rubber stamp his recommendation letters or they pushed their school quite hard to help him out. I applied to 5 schools in my day and it was a very time consuming affair especially when you get land F2F interviews. You burn quite a bit of capital w/ a teacher when you hand them a stack of rec letters to fill out especially since they have a classroom of students looking for similar help. Shotgunning a huge pile of schools looking for finaid cash is pointless especially since Harvard et al have zero tuition for middle class students and plenty of scholarships to make up the remainder.

[arjay57]

I'm just saying other things come up that may change your mind. Suppose you get married between the time you apply and the time you hear from them? Or maybe someone in your family needs you to take care of them? Or you joined the service? Or you were pushed into applying to some place like Harvard but after you are accepted it doesn't seem like the kind of place where you would flourish?

Life is more complicated than just deciding which college you want to attend and then heading off there.

[sirrob]

Originally Posted by Mishap

From his LinkedIn:

Thanks!

[Nanosolar]

Your choice of a 4 year college does not have to define your life.

[Freeminds]

This is from a commenter and was exactly what I was thinking.

If wanted to be close to mom and dads because of his age. He should have selected Ga Tech in ATL or Auburn (an hour away). I think some "rattler 20 year old" dancer put it on him. But he'll be fine regardless, but should just say, I got turned out, that's why I'm here. Nobody at Harvard can shake it like this. LOL.

He also should have had Hope scholarship for GA Tech. Very suspicious.

Yeah, let's be real; he went down there, got "booty shocked" at the recruitment pep rally and didn't want to leave. Lol

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Freeminds

He also should have had Hope scholarship for GA Tech. Very suspicious.

Yeah, let's be real; he went down there, got "booty shocked" at the recruitment pep rally and didn't want to leave. Lol

Sounds to me like he had very sensible reasons for choosing FAMU:

Tallahassee, Florida –

Florida A&M University (FAMU) freshman, Ralph Jones Jr., a 16 year old from Atlanta, Ga. turned down offers to Howard University, Fort Valley State University and Morehouse College to attend FAMU. In addition to these institutions, he also turned down prominent Ivy League institutions such as Harvard University to become a Rattler.

With an SAT score of 2,120 out of 2,400, it is understandable how he was admitted to the top institutions in the U.S.

Jones is a recipient of the Life-Gets-Better Scholarship and a National Achievement Finalist. Jones was awarded $120,000 in scholarships, which includes a stipend, tuition and fees, room and board, books and a laptop.

Being a member of a family who has a three-generation history of attending Fort Valley State University and parents who are educators, Jones feels that his childhood played a huge role in his development.

“My background growing up is a little different,” said Jones. “My parents are both educators. My mother is a first grade teacher and my dad was a college professor for some time. Needless to say, a large focus was on education in my house.”

More...A 16-Year-Old FAMU Freshman Has Earned His Spot « Brand Newz

[Mishap]

^How do you get into Harvard w/ 2120? That # would put him in the bottom 25% of students so unless he's got an outstanding story(or 4 generations of legacy) to go w/ that score, he'd be an extreme long shot. The top 25% of students there have a 2390 or higher. Anything shy of 99th+ percentile isn't enough to look at Harvard unless you've got some extenuating circumstances like you happen to also be a 6'8" three sport athlete w/ a 4.2 40yd, 100mph fastball, and .60FG%.

120k scholarship or not, the school has an avg 30yr ROI of $6.6k vs. Harvard's avg $1.253M. If his parents are educators and solidly middle class, Harvard would zero their tuition bill w/ scholarships (150k right there) regardless of his merit and he'd be able to make up any additional costs w/ other scholarships. There's a reason why 35,000 students apply for ~1,600 seats.
College Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2012 College ROI Report

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Mishap

Then skip the $75 application fee and save your teachers some effort in writing all those recommendation letters. I have no doubt many people don't go for financial reasons (although Harvard has 100% need based finaid) but there's significant opportunity cost in building an application between essays and letters especially for the top tier schools.

If you're applying for bragging rights down the road, it probably makes more sense to actually go to the school if you're looking to maximize the benefit. Given the sheer # of schools he applied to, his family likely spent 2-3k in application fees alone and either got his teachers to rubber stamp his recommendation letters or they pushed their school quite hard to help him out. I applied to 5 schools in my day and it was a very time consuming affair especially when you get land F2F interviews. You burn quite a bit of capital w/ a teacher when you hand them a stack of rec letters to fill out especially since they have a classroom of students looking for similar help. Shotgunning a huge pile of schools looking for finaid cash is pointless especially since Harvard et al have zero tuition for middle class students and plenty of scholarships to make up the remainder.

As I spent most of my life as a teacher, I can safely say that If I believed in my students capability, writing a recommendation letter was never a chore. If Id ever gotten that jaded, I like to think I would have left the profession. And really, like this was all a one-way effort on the part of his family and faculty? Like he wasnt being recruited by these schools in the first place? Kids like this are like crack to universities.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Freeminds

This is from a commenter and was exactly what I was thinking.



He also should have had Hope scholarship for GA Tech. Very suspicious.

Yeah, let's be real; he went down there, got "booty shocked" at the recruitment pep rally and didn't want to leave. Lol

Indeed, lets be real. He seems to have far more sense than that. Besides, FAMU offered him a free ride, something GA Tech didnt. That, I believe, was one of his primary goals.

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Indeed, lets be real. He seems to have far more sense than that. Besides, FAMU offered him a free ride, something GA Tech didnt. That, I believe, was one of his primary goals.

How did he not qualify for Hope?